Discover
by SkywardGratis
Summary: Regrets and What If's Were all she could think of right now. Life was changing so much, so damn quickly. Holly/Sara
1. Chapter 1

_Well this Is a first for me. I watched the pilot episode again tonight and after a discussion with someone this story was born. The pairing's a bit unusual but we'll see where it goes. Please Review. xx_

She was quite happily in her own dreamland, they were walking along the beach hand and hand and she was about to propose then a phone rang. The shrill sound of her mobile brought her out of that dream; reality hit her in the face. An unknown caller id appeared on her screen and she answered it immediately

'Hello?' her voice was filled with sleep and she slowly headed out of bed towards the bathroom

'Is this Mrs. Gribbs-Sidle?' the voice was soothing and she knew immediately something was wrong

'Yes What's Happened?' no one ever addressed her as Mrs. Gribbs-Sidle...it was only ever their friends when they were messing about which meant if someone was calling her by that name then something had happened to Holly

'I'm sorry to tell you but your wife Holly has been involved in an incident, it seems she was shot during her work. She's in the OR at the moment but you should get here as soon as possible' The colour on her face drained immediately, as soon as she hung up she was quickly dressing and barely paused to lock the door as she rushed out the flat and down to her car.

She would be surprised to she didn't incur any speeding fines as she raced through the streets between her flat...correction their flat, and the hospital. She practically abandoned the car in the parking lot and she could her footsteps echoing across the lot as she headed for the hospital entrance. Approaching the desk she tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the girl to finish her phone call.

'Can you tell me where Mrs. Gribbs-Sidle is please?' her voice held more politeness than she thought it would but she knew it sounded forced. All she wanted at that moment was to see Holly but it seemed as if the minutes were stretching into hours as she waited for the girl to reply.

'3rd Floor. Ask at the desk for her' the abrupt response was as unexpected and expected, they'd received some harsh comments in the year they'd been married and she supposed they'd started to get used to them but she wasn't expecting to receive such a response from hospital personnel. Deciding she didn't care she headed towards the elevator before deciding the stairs would give her something to focus on.

She reached the third floor and was pleased the nurse there automatically directed her towards the hard plastic chairs outside the room Holly would be brought to when she was out of the OR.

As she headed towards the line of chairs she noticed a group of people arguing, the older man appeared to be trying to get some sense out of the black guy whilst a woman and two men stood away to the side. She caught the tail end of the argument

'Why would you leave her there Warrick...her first day, Christ you were supposed to look out for her' the woman interrupted before the other male could react

'This isn't helping Holly is it Gil? Warrick? Please just sit down, her next of kin will be here soon do you really want them to hear about the mistakes made today before they know if she's okay?'

They shook their heads and sat down either side of her. Sara walked quickly towards the group 'Are you here with Holly Gribbs?'

The shock was obvious on their faces, the woman nodded 'I'm Catherine Willows..Are you Holly's next of kin?'

I nearly laughed at the way she assumed I was Holly's sister or something. Holly had said she wasn't intending to tell her colleagues about our relationship, she didn't want to receive the same reaction she had in 'Frisco. Realised she hadn't responded she offered the group a tight smile and nodded

'Sara Gribbs-Sidle, I'm Holly's wife pleased to meet you' Catherine shook her hand and didn't seem in the least bit bothered by the revelation. The other members eyed her warily before smiling and introducing themselves.

Time seemed to pass so slowly as we all waited for news on Holly's condition. Catherine had moved away from the group and we sat side-by-side talking about mine and Holly's relationship and Catherine's daughter Lindsay. I realised that I was being more open with Catherine about me and Holly than I ever had been before but I found myself not in the least bit scared by it, I knew immediately I could trust Catherine and anyone could see that she was supporting me. And if I was honest with myself I needed her support. I didn't know how I was going to handle the news when a doctor eventually arrived.


	2. Chapter 2

It had taken what seemed to be hours before a doctor finally came out and spoke to the group. Sara decided that she wanted Catherine with her when she heard the news so the doctor led them into what she expected was supposed to be an inviting office but it only filled her with dread. Nothing good happened in these rooms. They sat down opposite the oak desk and the doctor waited patiently for her to regain her composure before beginning.

'As I'm sure your aware Holly suffered from a gunshot wound to the centre of her back, in the OR we were able to stop the bleeding and we're hopefully the stitches will hold the only concern is that damage the bullet may have caused to her spinal cord, the worst possibility is that she'll be permanently disabled from nearly the neck down but we are hopefully that she will regain nearly full mobility in her back...She's been sedated at the moment and will remain in that state until we can be sure the bleeding is not going to start again. We hope to relieve the swelling on her spinal cord in order to assess the damage the bullet may have caused. In about 2 or 3 days we'll remove the sedative but when she wakes it's imperative that she stays completely still, otherwise she risks causing more damage than originally sustained. For now it's probably best if you both go home and come back and check on her tomorrow. We have your details on file Mrs. Gribbs-Sidle and we'll contact you if there's any change in her condition' the doctor left the office to check on some paperwork and allow the two women to take in the severity of the situation. Sara stared forwards trying to take in all the information she'd just received. Catherine risked frightening Sara and reached over and carefully took Sara's hand in her own.

'She's going to be alright you know Sara. Holly's a fighter that much was obvious even from just meeting her today, She'll fight this and you'll be there ever step of the way...Would you like to come home with me tonight, I think you could use some company and a distraction...a 10 year old kind of provides that distraction after something like this' Sara simply nodded and squeezed Catherine's hand harder. They sat in silence for about 5 minutes before the tears came and Sara collapsed into Catherine's arms, revelling in the comfort another person's arms could provide.

That night Sara lay in Catherine's spare room staring up at the artexed ceiling listening to Catherine arguing with her daughter over something or other. She wondered if she and Holly would ever have that. Would she and Holly ever have anything together again? She knew that if Holly pulled through then this would either make or break them. They'd only been married 9 months. It would either make them stronger or drive the already present wedge further between them. Slowly Sara started to drift into a fitful sleep only to awake minutes later by the shrill ring of her mobile. Grasping it tightly in her hand she glanced at the screen and upon seeing Hospital flashing up, answered it.

'Hello?' The voice on the other end sounded bored and had the same tone as ever other nurse delivering bad news did. 'Miss Gribbs-Sidle You need to return to the Hospital immediately...I'm afraid you're wife has been taking back into the OR' the panic from earlier resurfaced immediately and settled in the pit of her stomach. Telling the hospital she was on her way, Sara quickly dressed and went in search of Catherine's room. She had to get to that hospital.

The look on the nurse's face when she asked for Holly's doctor was one of grave disappointment...It was obvious that whatever the Doctor was about to tell them wasn't going to be good news. Gripping Catherine's hand harder than ever before Sara sat down and waited for the Doctor to start talking.

'I'm afraid to have to be the one to tell you but Holly was rushed back in the OR about an hour after you left...I'm sorry but Holly died on the table about 20 minutes ago' Sara stared straight at the Doctor, as if not seeing him before turning to Catherine and smiling sadly before the tears started to fall.


End file.
